Gentle Loving
by LoveEmilyProcter
Summary: The love between Eric and Calleigh was strong. He belonged to her and she...? She belonged to him.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER**

**Rated:** M (for adult themes, sexual content)

**Timeline:** Season 8, after episode 20 'Backfire'

**Warnings:** This story is _not for children_! Includes mature sexual content.

**Copyright:** CSI:Miami © CBS Broadcasting Inc and Alliance-Atlantis Communications. CSI:Miami characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of these. No copyright infringement is intended. This fan-fiction is provided for entertainment purposes only.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The drive from CSI back to the hospital was quiet. Calleigh was in deep thought, Eric could tell by the look on her face. Her head was turned slightly to the side to look out of the window. She seemed to stare at everything and nothing altogether.

Eric knew what she was thinking about, had known since they had been at the morgue and Calleigh had said a quite goodbye to Patrick. She was thinking about why she felt so near to him and about the incident at the crime scene.

They had talked a little about what had happened, and Eric had told her how worried and scared he had been of losing her. He wasn´t angry at her, not at all, but he was scared. It had only been about a year since her first visit to the ER, when she had been there as a result of smoke inhalation... And now she was at the hospital again. It was almost the same, almost. This time her heart had stopped, and he thought he lost her for good. He couldn´t stand the thought of losing Calleigh; he couldn´t live without her anymore.

But thanks to the doctor, she was alive and she was there with him. Eric snapped out of his thoughts, when he felt Calleigh´s small hand on his. He looked at her, and gave her a little smile.

"I´m sorry about what happened today, I didn´t mean to scare you", she told him and looked down. "Hey", Eric said and gave her hand a little squeeze. Calleigh didn´t look up. "Calleigh, look at me, please", Eric said.

Calleigh looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Babe, I´m not saying that it wasn´t stupid what you did today. But you followed your instinct, and tried to save Patrick's live. I´m not mad at you, I was just so scared that I would lose you, Cal. I can´t live without you anymore. You´re the right girl for me, Cal... And I don´t want to be without you anymore. So, please promise me, that you will take care of yourself in the future", Eric told her in a soft voice.

During his speech more tears had appeared in Calleigh´s eyes, and she couldn´t stop them from falling. She looked down at their hands and gave a slight nod, before she broke down crying. Heartbreaking sobs wracked her small body. She knew that she had scared Eric, and she also knew that she should have waited for fire rescue before entering the house. Her lungs were already damaged from the smoke inhalation; she got as a result from the first fire.

Eric couldn´t stand to see Calleigh like this. Tears streamed down her beautiful face, and her body was wracked from the crying. He pulled over and stopped the car. He got out of the car, and went over to her side, opened the door and pulled her into his arms.

Calleigh buried her face in his shoulder and cried like never before. The whole situation downed on her in this moment, and she couldn´t stop the tears from falling and the sobs to wracking her weak body.

Eric held her close to him, one hand in her long blond locks as the other went up and down her back in a soothing manner to let her know that he was there for her, and always would be. "Shh, it´s okay, querida, I´m here and I´m not going anywhere", he told her. But Eric would not tell her to calm down and stop crying. Calleigh nearly never cried; she never showed her emotions like this, or not very often at least. So he just let her cry it all out, because he knew that it would be good for her.

After nearly an hour of crying, Calleigh slowly calmed down, and with her even breathing, Eric could tell that she had fallen asleep. Her weak body was too exhausted to stay awake. Eric held her for a moment, before he gently sat her back in her seat, and went around to his side, to drive the rest of the way back to the hospital. They had agreed to stay at the hospital for at least one night, just to be sure, that she was okay to go home.

When they arrived at the hospital, Eric gently got Calleigh out of the car, without waking her. The sleep was good for her, so Eric carried her inside. When he was walking down the hall to her room, they were met by Calleigh´s doctor who got a worried look on his face, when he saw Eric carrying Calleigh. But Eric quickly reassured him, that she was okay, and just was asleep. The doctor nodded and told Eric to call for him if there should be anything.

Eric nodded and thanked the doctor before he went into Calleigh´s room, to get her into her bed, so she could sleep. The nurses had pulled in a bed for Eric to stay in overnight.

When Calleigh was put into bed, Eric went outside the room, to call Horatio, to let him know how she was. "Eric, I want you to take time off until she is okay, to start at work again", Horatio told him. Eric was really happy to have a boss and brother-in-law like Horatio; he always thought about his team and cared deeply for them.

Eric closed his phone and went in to Calleigh again. She was still asleep, but her breathing wasn´t so even as before. It sounded like she had trouble breathing again. Eric went to her side, and gently shook her awake. When Calleigh woke, she panicked, because she had the feeling that she couldn´t breathe. Eric took her inhaler and held it to her mouth, so that she could take a dose, to calm her breathing again.

When her breathing was finally at normal again, she lay back in bed and looked at Eric. "Thank you," she said and gave him a small smile. "You don´t have to thank me, I´m your boyfriend," Eric answered with a wide smile.

Calleigh was about to say some more, when there was a knock at the door. The doctor looked in and Calleigh gave him a nod. He came in, and took a closer look at Calleigh. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Well, I just had a little breathing trouble, but Eric was here to take care of it and me," Calleigh said honestly.

The doctor smiled and nodded. "That's good that you have such a good and loving boyfriend," he said. "But we still would like to keep you here for tonight, just to make sure that everything is okay. If you have trouble breathing again, you know how to take your dose of the inhaler, I see. And if nothing else happens overnight, I will release you tomorrow morning. But I don´t want you to be alone. Is your boyfriend staying with you?" the doctor asked. Before Calleigh could say anything Eric told the doctor that he had time off from work, and that he would stay with Calleigh until she was cleared for work.

"That's good, then I have nothing to worry about, I hear. But don´t let her run around doing everything. She still needs to rest, due to her lung condition. Her lungs got further damaged and she needs rest. As it looks now, I can´t say for sure if they will heal 100 %. It looks like permanent damage, but with some PT and her inhaler, she will be okay," the doctor told Eric, and then looked at Calleigh.

Calleigh looked down, and listened to the doctor leaving the room, and then she turned to Eric. "You are of work until I´m cleared for work?"

"Yeah, Horatio told me to stay with you and take good care of his Bullet Girl," Eric said with a bright loving smile.

Calleigh smiled then sighed. She closed her eyes and snuggled into Eric's warm and strong embrace. Only minutes later, Calleigh was fast asleep again. Eric smiled down at her, as he watched her sleep peacefully in his arms.

After some minutes he shifted them a little, so that he could lay down a little better. He tightened his hold on Calleigh a little and fell asleep as well.

An hour later, Alexx´s work shift started. She would be there over night. She knocked lightly at the door, and peeked inside the room. It was slightly dark by now, but she could still see Eric and Calleigh snuggled up together in one bed.

Alexx smiled, knowing how strong the love between Eric and Calleigh was. Calleigh looked like her breathing was okay, so Alexx decided just to let the two of them sleep and walked out of the room again. She would check up on them again later tonight.

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_This is my very first story in english. I hope you guys like it so far. There will be more chapters. Thank you to my sister "Bola" who Beta read the story and helped me to get it up._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2:**

The next morning, Eric woke up to a warm hand lightly touching his arm. When he opened his eyes he saw Alexx standing by his side smiling. "Alexx, hey," he greeted her.

"Hi, baby," Alexx whispered back, not to wake Calleigh, who still seemed to sleep peacefully in Eric´s arms.

Eric´s eyes drifted to Calleigh and then back to Alexx. "How was she over night?" Alexx asked Eric.

"I was in to check on you two, when I started work yesterday night, but you were both asleep, and Calleigh seemed to be fine," she said.

Eric looked at Calleigh again, and whispered, "She had a little trouble breathing when we came back yesterday, but she has been fine during the night," Eric said with a smile.

Calleigh stirred and gave a little sound of displeasure because of the disturbance. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and immediately fell on Eric.

"Morning, Handsome," she greeted him with a smile. "Well, good morning to you too, sleeping beauty," Alexx said.

Calleigh turned her head and saw Alexx smiling down at her. "Hi Alexx, what are you doing here?" Eric and Alexx both smiled before Alexx said. "Well, I actually work here, sweetheart," she said.

Calleigh gave her a small laugh. "I know that, Alexx, that´s not what I meant," Calleigh said.

"I know, I had to work last night, and was in to check up on you, but you slept peacefully every time I came to see you. I talked to your doctor; he told me that if you were okay, you could be released today. So how are you feeling baby girl?" Alexx asked with a warm smile.

Calleigh took a minute before she said, "I´m fine, I think. Still a little tired and weak, but else I´m okay."

"And I´m off work, until she is cleared for work again," Eric told Alexx as he took Calleigh´s hand in his and gave her a beautiful and loving smile.

Alexx nodded knowingly, "I know. I talked to Horatio before I came in, and he told me. Now, Honey, I will get your release papers, so you guys can go home. But remember to rest; you still need your lungs to heal, so let our sweet scuba boy here take care of you, okay?"

Calleigh and Eric laughed, and Calleigh nodded and snuggled into Eric´s arms.

As Alexx got Calleigh´s papers ready, Eric helped Calleigh get dressed. She signed the papers and Alexx told them that she would swing by that night, before Eric and Calleigh walked out to Eric´s car.

During the drive home to their place - well actually Calleigh´s house, but Eric had moved in with her about three month ago - Calleigh fell asleep again. Eric looked over at her and smiled; she needed all the sleep she could get now, so that her lungs could heal some more. The fact that her lungs were damaged for life was frightening but he would do anything in his power to make sure that Calleigh would be okay.

When he parked the car in the driveway, Calleigh´s eyes slowly fluttered open. "We´re home?" she asked a little confused. "Yeah, you okay to walk in on your own?" Eric asked before he got out of the car. Calleigh closed her eyes for a moment before she nodded. They quietly got out of the car and walked in. Once inside, Calleigh yawned and turned to Eric. "I´m so tired, but I really would like to shower," she said. Eric took her into his arms before he pressed a light kiss to her forehead. "Tell you what... What about you take a nap now and then I make you a nice bath a little later," He said.

Calleigh nodded as she snuggled further into his embrace. Eric held her close for another minute, before he slowly turned her around and led her to the couch, so she could lie down and get some more sleep. Sleep came quickly. Once Calleigh´s head came to rest on a pillow, her eyes fell closed and even before Eric could put a blanket over her, she was already fast asleep.

While Calleigh slept, Eric walked into the kitchen and called Natalia. "Hey, Nat, it´s me Eric. Listen, could you do me a favor and do a little grocery shopping for me? I don´t want Calleigh to be alone," he told her.

"Of course, Eric, don´t worry about it, I´ll be there in about an hour. How is she?" Natalia asked. Calleigh and Eric were some of her closest friends, and she really was worried about Calleigh.

"She´s still weak and tired and she has to rest a lot, because the doc told us her lungs are damaged for life, but she´ll be okay with some PT and her inhaler. She is okay for now, though," Eric told her. He knew how worried Natalia and the rest of their team had been, when Calleigh had laid unconscious in the hospital, with a breathing tube down her throat.

"That´s good to hear" Natalia said. "Well, I´ll be there in an hour, bye," Natalia said, with a sigh of relief.

Eric closed his phone and went into the living room, to check on Calleigh. She was still fast asleep, curled up on one end of the couch, with the soft blanket covering her slender body. Eric went over to her and kneeled down beside her. Softly he brushed some of her blond strands out of her face and placed a light kiss on her hair.

He walked over to the other end of the couch, reached for his laptop on the coffee table, and sat down with it. He would try to get some work done while Calleigh slept, even though it was only paper work.

About thirty minutes later, he heard a light knock at the front door. When he looked up, he saw Natalia through the window by the door. Calleigh stirred and whimpered a little, but fell back to sleep again. Eric got up, and went to open the door for Natalia. "Hey" he greeted her, Natalia smiled. "Hey yourself," she said as she entered the house.

"Calleigh is sleeping on the couch, so we have to be quiet. I don´t want her to wake up," Eric told her as they walked down the hallway and entered the kitchen.

Natalia nodded and peeked into the living room, as she set the grocery bag on the counter. She could see Calleigh curled up on the couch. "She still looks pale," she noted. "Yeah, she is but the doctors said that is normal. It´s because her body still has to heal," he said, with a light nod.

They got the groceries out of the bag and were about to settle for a cup of coffee when they heard Calleigh whimper. Eric looked into the living room and saw Calleigh trashing around on the couch. Her whimpers grew louder, and tears began to run down her face.

Eric looked at Natalia and went into the living room. Calleigh was clearly having a bad dream. Both he and Natalia could tell, by the way Calleigh whimpered and cried in her sleep.

Before Eric was by her side, Calleigh sat up on the couch covered in sweat, tears streaming down her face, and she was struggling to breathe again. "Nat, get her inhaler in her purse, please," Eric said as he sat down and took Calleigh into his arms, trying to calm her a little.

Natalia came with the inhaler and sat down on the other side of Calleigh, and watched as Eric held Calleigh tightly against him and put her inhaler to her mouth to give her a dose of her medication.

A moment later Calleigh slowly calmed down and her breathing returned to normal. "You okay?" Eric asked her after a minute.

Calleigh nodded lightly against his chest, " I just had a bad dream," she murmured. Eric looked up and locked eyes with Natalia for a second, before he looked down at Calleigh again. "Hey querida, look... Nat is here, and she brought over some groceries, for us," Eric gently told her. " I bought some of everything - easily digestable things and such. I didn´t know what you still had, so I bought enough," Natalia said.

Calleigh lifted her head and followed Eric´s eyes. When she looked behind her she saw Natalia sitting there. "Nat hey, good to see you… Thank you for the groceries." Calleigh smiled a weak smile at her friend. Natalia smiled back and gave Calleigh a light hug. "You´re more than welcome, Cal," she said.

"If there is anything else I can do, just let me know," Natalia said. Eric and Calleigh smiled and nodded.

They talked for a few more minutes, and Natalia told Calleigh how happy she was to see that Calleigh was feeling a little better, before she left.

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_**Thank you so much for the kind reviews... So here is the next chapter, enjoy... :) **_


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